


Ghostly Times

by whytho



Category: Paranatural (Webcomic)
Genre: Gen, Ghosts, Wild Times with the Journalism Club, there are ghosts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-08
Updated: 2016-10-08
Packaged: 2018-08-20 04:04:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8235476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whytho/pseuds/whytho
Summary: Collin had not gotten enough sleep last night. “Dude,” Dimitri observed from his sprawl on the office’s only chair, headphones already on and blasting music. Even from several feet away, the sound hurt Collin’s head. “You look exhausted.”





	

Collin had not gotten enough sleep last night. 

“Dude,” Dimitri observed from his sprawl on the office’s only chair, headphones already on and blasting music. Even from several feet away, the sound hurt Collin’s head. “You look exhausted.” 

Collin pulled himself onto the desk, his too-hot red eye latte clenched in one hand, and rubbed at his eyes with the other. The sunlight peeking through the window was too bright, he decided. Whoever created sunrises was a sadist. 

“Yeah, well,” Collin muttered. “That happens when you don’t sleep.” 

Dimitri didn’t answer- whether he couldn’t hear or just didn’t have a response, Collin wasn’t sure. When he glanced back behind him, Dimitri had his eyes shut, but he was also frowning, looking troubled and thoughtful mixed together- unreadable. 

Collin bit his lip once, then pulled out his laptop and opened the latest article to edit. He might have been exhausted, but he could still try to dismember Suzy’s writing- that, at least, was something he enjoyed doing. For a few minutes their tiny club room was filled only with the sound of Dimitri’s light, slow breathing and Collin’s keyboard clacking away, as voices in the hallway shouted and murmured and were swept away in the before school rush to get to class. 

As Collin saved the draft and closed his laptop, heavy footsteps sounded in the hallway, and both Collin and Dimitri sighed in unison. The door banged open. Suzy barreled in. Collin and Dimitri sighed again, louder this time. 

“I have,” Suzy declared, “The most perfect idea for a Halloween article.” 

The bell rang; Collin continued packing up his papers like Suzy hadn’t spoken. 

“I have,” Suzy repeated, “the _most perfect_ idea for a Halloween article.”

Dimitri, sounding amused, said, “Alright then. Will it wait till lunch or…?”

Suzy inhaled forcefully, so long and deep Collin was almost afraid she’d get oxygen poison, and told them, “Meet in the library during lunch. Or you could skip math and see me then, but. Lunch.” Then she whirled away, hair amuss, papers flying, and Dimitri laughed, long and hard; Collin wasn’t sure what at. 

God, he needed to go to bed sooner. He needed to go to bed, period. 

 

The library was always quiet- it was one of the definable parts of a library, really- but Mayview Middle’s seemed to be creepily silent in the fall. Maybe it was just because no one was serious about school yet, but Collin always got chills when he checked out a new book; it was too cold, too calm, and too eerie. 

Mostly he tried to stay away from the library anytime before late November. With Dimitri by his side, though, and Suzy waiting on the other side of the glass doors, he had no choice but to drag open the door and whisk Dimitri inside. 

Today, as usual, the library was silent; Suzy’s voice, loud and exuberant, was the only thing cutting through the quiet as she lead them to a tiny table in the back corner. “Guys! Look, okay, so. The other day I was interviewing some of the people in the senior citizen homes about- well, a lot of things, really- and one of them mentioned a pumpkin ghost spirit thing so I, of course, went to research it, and- this is it, guys. This is the October scoop.” 

“Uh, what?” Dimitri asked, cocking his head to one side and staring down at the pile of newspaper clippings and diary entries Suzy had assembled. ( _Had she stolen decades old diaries?_ a distant part of Collin’s mind wondered, but he pushed it aside in order to pull the leather-bound books closer.)

“I- um, wow,” Collin said after he had worked his way through most of the table. “I- Suzy, don’t you think this is fake?” 

Suzy drew herself up to her full height, which was, in all honestly, a lot taller than Collin, and said haughtily, “Do I think this is fake? Well, I don’t know, Collin- would fifty years of evidence be _fake_?”

“Yes,” Collin said. “I would call it very fake, seeing as it’s talking about a _ghost_.” 

“A spirit,” Dimitri interrupted softly. He’d been so quiet, Collin had almost forgotten he was there. “Technically, it’s a spirit, not a ghost, because ghosts are people. Pumpkins are not.” He breathed out, once, hard. 

All three of them stared down at the pile of papers. No one spoke. Outside the library windows, a wind blew hollowly, and inside, the sound of pipes rattling made Collin jump a little. He shivered; suddenly, the room seemed to call for more than a sweater. 

“Well,” Collin said eventually, after the floorboards had stopped creaking. He rubbed his arms to get heat circulating, then asked pointedly, “How are we going to turn this into an article, exactly?” 

Suzy’s grin widened. “We’re going to summon it,” she said, looking so maniacal Collin wished he had an interest in musicals and not journalism. Theater kids were never killed by their club presidents. Theater kids also got to eat lunch every day, which was something Collin wanted to be doing, and- 

“Suzy,” Collin started, worry growing in his voice. “Next class starts in thirty seconds.” 

“Yeah?” 

“It’s halfway across the school.” 

Suzy froze. Then she was off running, dodging tables and chairs and leaping over the elderly librarian, and Collin had two seconds to think, That traitor, before he was running too. 

(He made it to class only two minutes late; the teacher let him off easy. Dimitri, on the other hand, strolled through the hallway at least five minutes later, and Collin doubted he even got told off.) 

 

They met in the club room after school. Dimitri was first, as he always was, and then Collin. Suzy came at least ten minutes later with a milkshake in one hand and papers in the other, eyes bright and eager, and hustled all of them out the door, across the hallway, and right back into the library. 

It was cold there yet again, the chill afternoon sunlight streaming through the windows and making everything seem pale and precise. Collin shivered the second he was shoved through the door, and the eerie cloak of silence was just as unsettling as it had been during lunch. He shivered again; Dimitri glanced over at him and nudged at his elbow with a comforting smile, quick. Collin managed a shaky smile back. 

Pushing them over to their table in the corner, Suzy, with a wild edge to her voice, said, “I know I forgot to mention it this morning, but- all of the Halloween ghost reports talk about seeing it for the first time in this one place- in _here._ After that, it’s wherever, but the first sighting is always here, so… I figure we try to summon this pumpkin, and then- _jack o'lanterns._ ”

Dimitri looked disbelieving. “And do you happen to have Ouija board or medium we can use?” 

_What’s a medium?_ a part of Collin's mind wondered as Suzy, indignant, got started on research and wooden surfaces and seeing into the beyond, and then Collin was very, very lost. Dimitri, on the other hand, most certainly was not, and when he said something about the spectral plane, the conversation dissolved into the closest thing to an argument Dimitri was awake enough for. 

“Guys!” Collin interrupted. “Can we just do this before I need to get home? My dad needs my help making dinner.” 

Suzy and Dimitri exchanged one long look before Dimitri nodded dubiously. “Do what you need to do, Suzy.” 

They all sat at the table and joined hands, per Suzy’s instructions. Dimitri’s hand was large and smooth in Collin’s, his grip loose and languid and a little too cold, while Suzy’s was smaller and warmer, the fingers calloused from holding a pen for too long. As Suzy began humming, they rubbed their hands against the tabletop to make _shush-shush-shush_ noises echo slightly around the library. Collin realized how quiet it was in there with a start, their noises sounding all the more eerie, and then-  


_Crash._

Collin’s snapped open to see Maxwell Puckett standing several feet away, looking slightly guiltily at the table lying on its side in front of him. Beside him was Ed Burger and some eighth grader Collin didn’t know, and all three of them looked very suspicious. 

Max coughed lightly. “So,” he said, looking nonplussed, “That was some. Nice chanting.” 

Dimitri smirked for a split-second, so fast Collin might have imagined it, then returned his face to its usual position. Neither of Max’s friends said anything, just looked away from Collin’s stare. 

“Yeah,” Suzy replied, glaring. “It would have been _better_ if you hadn’t _interrupted_ us.” 

Max shrugged broadly. The eighth grader nudged him and whispered something, too quiet to hear, and Ed nodded. “Well,” the eighth grader said. “We’ll be going, now.” 

“Wait!” Suzy stood bolt upright, dropping Collin’s hand, and told Max, “Wait.”

Max looked like a deer caught in headlights. 

“Can I- We’re obviously doing something here in the library, and I was wondering- Can I borrow you for few minutes, Maxwell?” 

Max pressed his lips together, then turned to nod at his friends. As Ed and the eighth grader sprinted away- _Why were they running in a library?_ Collin thought absently- he sat. 

Suzy steepled her fingers together. “We are here,” she began, “to investigate a ghost.” 

Sounding strangled, Max laughed. “What, you think it’d be here?” he asked, voice still strained. “Here, in Mayview? In Mayview Middle’s library?” 

“Yes,” Suzy replied, so steadfast Collin almost trusted her. 

An unreadable expression on his face, Max leaned back, and, faintly, said, “Well.” 

They sat. Suzy was staring at Max, aggressive, and Max was ignoring her; Dimitri was looking off into the distance looking sleepy, and Collin was listening to footsteps in the hallways, fast and heavy, and to the harsh breathing on the other side of the bookshelves. Maybe someone else came in, he thought; it would be nice if the library got some more patrons- 

Panting, Isabel Guerra burst out from behind a bookshelf. “Max?” she asked, fast. “What are you doing? Isaac needs backup!” 

Raising his eyebrows at her, Max replied, “I am _busy_ with the _Journalism Club_.” 

Isabel stopped. “Oh.”

“Yeah.” 

“I- I’m going outside now,” Isabel said, almost helpless, and turned heel to walk away.

Both Max and Suzy watched her go, Max swinging his feet up against the table and leaning back farther in his chair. Suzy made to stand. Dimitri placed a hand on her arm almost before she moved, gentle despite the speed, and Suzy relaxed again. Collin didn’t know why, but Suzy looked almost defeated, and Dimitri was sober and thoughtful, not sleepy at all. 

They sat. In the hallway, the footsteps grew louder then quieter again, and all at once several people yelled out, and then- 

The library was warm again, like it was in winter and spring and early summer months, and Collin suddenly heard muffled voices from the librarian’s desk and the tables in the front. Breaking out a satisfied smile (One that didn’t quite meet his eyes, Collin noted), Max swung his feet back down, sneakers making a muted thud against the carpet. 

“Well,” he said. “If that’s all done, I’m going to go.” 

 

They stayed in the library a little while after that, not bothering to try the chanting thing again, as Suzy pecked frantically at Collin’s laptop. By six, they had a fully fledged article, edited once already, and Collin just had to check over it one more time. 

The next day, The Newzy With Suzy had an new headliner- _Activity Club Gets Up To Some Shady Business_. In a smaller font underneath that, _Library’s Heating Miraculously Fixed_. No mention of pumpkin ghosts was made.

**Author's Note:**

> For the pnat Halloween Challenge!! yeyeye it's v fun (tho also stressful......)


End file.
